19/04/2026
Hello Mr. Touray,
First off, I can confirm that Manuel Stofleth Mitterer loaned to me €165,000 in two instalments. Actually, I was about to run into trouble with the Trust Bank, concerning a loan contracted by a brother of a friend of mine. I did not actually know my friend's brother, but decided to help him out by using Kunta Kinteh as collateral security for the loan. However, my friend's brother defaulted in paying the loan and I was consequently put under an intense pressure by the bank. This was when I decided to approach Manuel because as per our agreement with him under the Kasumai Real Estate agency, which we owned together, I and another shareholder; Marcel Lambertus Teunis van Andel were to receive €510,000 in July of 2021 when the dividend was supposed to be paid to shareholders. I then requested €150,000 from Manuel so that I can settle with the bank. He appeared to have no issues with my request and even told me that we are family and friends and should help each other. He subsequently wired €150,000 to my account in two instalments, and I was able to solve my stuff. He once wired €15,000 to one of my Swiss friends on my behalf, but he recovered it from my money. So, the €150,000 that he bailed me out with was outstanding, but Manuel had bigger plans. One day, he called to say that the money that he loaned to me wasn't money from Kasumai Real Estate because the company did not generate any revenue. He said he used his personal money to bail me out and would, therefore, like us to make a payment plan not because he did not trust me as a business partner, but for any eventuality. I told him that I have no problem with that because you should be able to stand for someone who stood for you in your time of need. And I don't want him to feel that I refused to pay him. I had no issues with a payment plan because, as per our agreement under Kasumai Real Estate agency, Marcel and I should receive our dividend payment in July of 2021. And the dividend was supposed to be in the region of €500,000. Manuel penned down a payment plan, listing Kunta Kinteh and Kasumai as collateral security for his loan. I asked him to remove Kunta Kinteh from it because the hotel has nothing to do with this. I also told him that since our dividend from Kasumai Real Estate agency was supposed to be paid in July, I saw no need for all this. That was when he settled down on Kasumai Real Estate agency and my farm in Sanyang as collateral. He said his loan would be serviced by any profit made by the Kasumai Real Estate agency and the farm. I signed the agreement with the optimism that our dividend would be paid in July. On the whole that was the time period when Manuel decided to divert all the revenue away from the accounts of Kasumai Real Estate agency to his cryptocurrency wallets and vaults. He did this with the full knowledge that this would keep the agency's accounts empty. And he believed that when the agency's accounts were empty, he would be able to cripple me. As per our agreed payment plan, I was supposed to repay him €75,000 in December of 2023 and the second instalment in April of 2024. I approached him when the deadlines for the dividend payments elapsed and his excuse was that the customers were unable to sell their apartments in Europe. It was all tricks he and his partner Angelika were playing. Since dividend payments could not materialize in December and April, there was a strange silence on their part. And in May, they wrote to me to say I've lost all my shares in the Kasumai Real Estate agency because I did not pay the €150,000 loan. I asked them how on earth was that conceivable under our arrangements. How can I pay when I did not see any penny from our investment? I told Manuel that he could have informed me if at all he needed money because we are business partners. I told him that on the whole he had an ulterior motive, which was why he included my businesses in the payment plan. That was when I made it clear to him that he was not a true business partner, but someone out to grab my investments. I asked him to give me a little time to sort him out, but he insisted that "it's too late, it's too late". I made a strong commitment to them to pay their money in a week's time from the day but they refused, saying it was already "too late". This was when they started to blackmail me. Manuel could have allowed me to pay or better-still go to the courts than insist on selling my shares. He later took the shares issues to the Kanifing High Court and the matter was dismissed twice.
2) As regards payment and receipts to the GTBoard and other entities, Marcel, Manuel and I have exhaustively discussed these issues and resolved that we would make sure everything about the business was facilitated without hindrance. Remember, the Bitcoin Tower is currently the tallest building in The Gambia. So, one could imagine the magnitude of the necessary financial commitments. A lot of layers had to be navigated to ensure the success of the project. I think Manuel knows better and should be in the better position to explain what transpired in relation to payments made not only to the GTBoard, but other departments and agencies.
3) A request is different to payment. Making a request doesn't automatically guarantee approval. And for your information, Manuel was granted 30% of the shares in the Kasumai Real Estate because he promised to provide the technical assistance for the Bitcoin Tower project and to market the flats in the European market. Marcel and I provided the finances while I provided the land. This is all the more reason Marcel and I owned 70% of the shares. He who doesn't have money cannot give out money. Manuel did not have any money at the time to contribute.
4) It's as a result of lack of accountability and transparency in financial transactions such as missing supporting documents about expenditures, Marcel and I decided it was enough. We have grown sick and tired of expenditures that Manuel cannot justify. He succeeded in weakening the internal control mechanism because he was, in business terms, the administrator, accountant and cashier. And in legal terms, he was the jury, judge and executioner. Manuel would incur expenses in the name of the company without prior consultation. We are convinced that he made a deliberate decision to bypass us in these financial transactions because he was trying to make money off our backs. He would rush to spend only to inform us later. This has indeed weakened internal controls.
5) I played a frontline role in the interaction with authorities and I also played a leading role in the acquisition of permits. I played no role in the management of Kasumai Real Estate's finances. There are people appointed for that. Marcel and I also trusted Manuel to a point that he was virtually running the company singlehandedly because we believed that he could make things happen only for him to stab us in the back by concealing from us the proceeds of our investment.
6) The alleged break-in is news to me. I never knew about the alleged burglary until after reading your missive. One thing I can tell you is that I'm a hard-working Gambian with no criminal record.
7) It may interest you to know that some apartment owners have started withdrawing the power of attorney they granted to Angelika. They felt their properties and finances have not been properly-managed. The Stofleths would be in the best position to provide clarification on "how rental income from The Edge development has been managed, and respond to claims that funds collected from tenants have not been remitted to apartment owners".
8) What exactly do you mean by improper financial demands? This is a partnership in which the expectations from all partners were clearly defined. It was, in fact, Manuel who was making improper financial demands by incurring expenses without prior consultation.
9) As I said earlier on, we filed a criminal complaint against Manuel because he kept on telling us that he converted the proceeds from our investment to bitcoins and when we failed in our effort to convince him to convert the bitcoins to euros or dollars since we knew next to nothing about cryptocurrency, we decided to involve the police. He sold more than 30 apartments under the Kasumai Real Estate agency brand, but refused to disclose how much each apartment was sold for, the agreement relating to those sales and the names and details of those buyers. He took all those monies, which amounted to over six million euros, and invested the amount in cryptocurrency, making returns on those investments without the knowledge of Marcel and I.
9) For your information, Manuel's legal case so that Marcel and I cannot play any role in the management of Kasumai Real Estate has crashed at the Kanifing High Court. So, which court orders are you specifically talking about? Can you kindly elaborate?
We are well aware that Manuel and his friend Banta Jaiteh have been going everywhere in order to frustrate police investigations against them. They even went to the extent of meeting senior government officials, but I am confident that Manuel and his wife have committed horrible crimes against a Gambian-registered company, sitting on money due to the Gambia Revenue Authority and other payments.
I am confident though that the Gambia Police Force (GPF) will do its job without fear or favour as it has well trained professionals. Manuel and his wife are still denying police investigators access to their phones or laptop containing all the information, relating to their bitcoin or cryptocurrency transactions. As I said earlier, the police have taken them to court for disobeying a lawful order. How can a minority shareholder withhold business and financial information of the company from the majority shareholders?
Meanwhile, I have been running my business for 27 odd years without a dent on my reputation. They [Manuel and Angelika] decided to launch a media campaign to dent my unassailable credibility and unblemished reputation by publishing articles they knew fully well can lead to a cyber crime such as virtual lynching. They are, however, wrong in thinking they can behave like a bull in a China shop by writing anything about me on social media, regarding the matter that is before a competent court of law. Hell no!
Please, feel free to reach out for any more clarification.
Best regards,
Ebrima Solomon Tamba.
A high-stakes dispute surrounding the Bitcoin Tower project in Bijilo, currently the tallest building in The Gambia and still under construction, is raising questions about investor confidence in the country.
Austrian developers Angelika and Manuel describe what began as a long-term investment turning into a complex legal and financial conflict after relocating to The Gambia five years ago with their young daughter, building a home, and committing to projects including The Edge and the Bitcoin Tower to bring sustained investment and development.
Documents they provided and reviewed by The Fatu Network show that tensions emerged as their local business partner Ebrima Solomon Tamba made repeated multimillion-dalasi financial demands linked to project approvals, including payments Tamba said were required by the Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard) without clear legal basis or adequate supporting documentation.
An independent audit ordered by Manuel later identified significant gaps in financial records and warned of potential exposure to misappropriation risks. Angelika and Manuel link these gaps to withdrawals and spending at the local level by their partners without adequate records or verification.
The dispute intensified after Manuel provided a €165,000 private loan to Ebrima Tamba, who is linked to the Kunta Kinteh Beach Complex in Kotu. The agreement allowed Manuel to take over Tamba’s shares in Kasumai Real Estate Ltd, the company behind both The Edge and the Bitcoin Tower project, if the loan was not repaid. They state that this condition became central to the conflict over control of the company and its assets.
They also describe what they characterise as intimidation, including warnings that came after they challenged the situation and sought to assert their rights, with one message stating they would soon learn “how the system in The Gambia works,” alongside an alleged break-in at their residence and office and encounters with authorities that led to their detention for several days.
Authorities are also reported to have attempted to gain access to financial information belonging to Angelika and Manuel, some of which they maintain falls outside the scope of the case.
While some reporting by other media outlets has focused largely on allegations against the Austrians, their account, supported by contracts, receipts, audit findings, and internal communications, presents a more detailed and contested picture of a partnership breakdown now before the courts.
Full investigation link in the comments ⬇
